Sleep-dependent memory consolidation and its implications for psychiatry

• Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission Vol. 124; no. Suppl 1; pp. 163 - 178
• Main Authors: Goerke, Monique, Müller, Notger G., Cohrs, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.02.2017
• Subjects: Animals; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Memory Consolidation - physiology; Mental Disorders - physiopathology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Neurology; Neurosciences; Psychiatry; Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Review Article; Sleep - physiology; Memory consolidation; Schizophrenia; Sleep; Insomnia; Major depression; Post-traumatic stress disorder
• ISSN: 0300-9564; 1435-1463
• DOI: 10.1007/s00702-015-1476-3

Both sleep disturbance and memory impairment are very common in psychiatric disorders. Since sleep has been shown to play a role in the process of transferring newly acquired information into long-term memory, i.e., consolidation, it is important to highlight this link in the context of psychiatric disorders. Along these lines, after providing a brief overview of healthy human sleep, current neurobiological models on sleep-dependent memory consolidation and resultant opportunities to manipulate the memory consolidation process, recent findings on sleep disturbances and sleep-dependent memory consolidation in patients with insomnia, major depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder are systematically reviewed. Furthermore, possible underlying neuropathologies and their implications on therapeutic strategies are discussed. This review aims at sensitizing the reader for recognizing sleep disturbances as a potential contributor to cognitive deficits in several disorders, a fact which is often overlooked up to date.